Wisconsin Muslim group again condemns Derrick Van Orden after radio appearance

The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance is once again condemning remarks made by Congressman Derrick Van Orden during a recent radio appearance.

The condemnation stems from remarks made by Van Orden on “The Vicki McKenna Show” on Sept. 1.

McKenna criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for wearing a hijab during a visit to an Islamic cultural center, to which Van Orden responded: “Vicki, she was addressing Muslim men, and that is an incredibly important distinction. So the governor of New York is cow towing to Muslim men because that's what that culture is all about. So I don't ever want to hear these people call themselves feminists and all this stuff again. That's what actually took place. That's why she was wearing the hijab.”

McKenna continues discussing how New York City residents elected its first Muslim mayor in history while noting the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is on Friday.

“They have no historical perspective at all. They don't understand that the entire northern part of Africa and essentially the entire Middle East used to all be the Christian nations, and they were conquered by Muhammad and his followers,” Van Orden said. “So they became Muslim nations due to the sword, and they were in Portugal and Spain. They were only stopped in Tours, France. Otherwise, Europe would have been, you know, part of the Muslim Caliphate. These are just historical facts, and the reason that Scandinavia wasn't conquered by Islam is because they didn't have airplanes, and they didn't have something called suicidal empathy.”

Van Orden served multiple combat tours as a Navy SEAL during the height of the “War on Terror.”

“Things happen in combat. You know, some stuff doesn’t always go great,” Van Orden said. “Meaning, you can release ordnance, and unfortunately, you know some people get killed that you know are unintended. They call that collateral damage, but I think that's a horrible term. But in Afghanistan, when you release ordnance, if you wind up killing civilians, like young girls, for instance, and livestock, the fathers would be more angry that the livestock was killed than their daughters, and that's what we're dealing with here. And people in Minnesota don't seem to understand that the value system of Islam does not comport with modern Western thought. So that's a real thing that I witnessed personally in Afghanistan.”

The WMCA said in a statement Sept. 10 that Van Orden “made sweeping and bigoted generalizations about Muslims and Islam” during his appearance on the radio program.

“During the interview, Rep. Van Orden claimed that Islamic values ‘do not comport with modern Western thought,’ invoked the concept of ‘suicidal empathy’ to describe Western tolerance of Muslim communities, and used a personal anecdote from his military service in Afghanistan to suggest that Muslim fathers value livestock over their own children. He also disparaged Governor Kathy Hochul for wearing a hijab while addressing Muslim constituents and villainized her for showing basic cultural respect.

“Additionally, Rep. Van Orden further implicated the classic Islamophic trope of the religion being ‘conquered by the sword’ which is used to characterize Muslims as inherently violent or barbaric. We strongly condemn these remarks as an attempt to portray Muslims as dangerous and worthy of suspicion.'

“Rep. Van Orden’s comments constitute the same rhetoric that has long been used to paint 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide, including tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, as fundamentally incompatible with American life. Wisconsin's Muslim community contributes to this state as small business owners, health care workers, veterans, elected officials, and neighbors. We reject any suggestion that our faith or our families are a threat to Western values.

“Rep. Van Orden’s most recent comments are consistent with his record of anti-Muslim rhetoric, in which he has amplified dehumanizing and baseless claims about Muslims. WMCA previously condemned his anti-Muslim remarks and reiterates its call for Rep. Van Orden to clearly and unequivocally to denounce the harmful anti-Muslim animus he continues to perpetuate.

“Rep. Van Orden represents Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. We call on him to retract these comments and to meet with Muslim constituents in his district before making further public statements about our community.”

Van Orden’s office said in a statement: "The WMCA hosted Hasan Piker who said that America deserved 9/11, that does not comport with modern Western thought."

Van Orden is currently seeking reelection and is facing Democrat Rebecca Cooke.